The Path to $100B

Buchheit describes moving from Intel to Google, where he was employee number 23. He chose Google after finding its engineers engaged and its questions thoughtful, and recalls Larry Page thinking years ahead about how the company might store data.

Buchheit first imagined web-based email in college but stalled when he tried to design too much at once. At Google, he built an initial Gmail search prototype in a day, then added features in response to colleagues’ requests and worked toward 100 happy internal users. His advice is to start with a product a small group loves, then broaden its appeal.

Buchheit says FriendFeed struggled against Facebook, which he believed understood social networks better. Facebook considered the value of the network itself, not only each individual user; enterprise founders likewise need to understand the buyer as well as the end user. He also highlights founder conviction and focus as advantages when competing with larger companies.

Buchheit argues that startups can compete through focus and by turning limited resources into substantial output. He warns that large early funding can let founders avoid customer feedback, using Juicero’s $700 machine and $120 million in funding as an example. Founders should sell, solve an urgent problem, and pay attention to current customers while keeping a view of the future.

In his $100 billion office hours, Buchheit asks founders to identify a major change that will shape the world over the next decade, then explain how their company could capture the opportunity. He points to microcomputers as a wave for Microsoft and the internet’s growth as a wave for Google. A market tipping point becomes clear when demand outpaces a company’s ability to serve it.